The present invention relates to a pivot mounting assembly for mounting a tipping trailer body on a trailer chassis of the type in which the pivot mounting assembly provides a pivot axis on the trailer chassis about which the trailer body is raised off and onto the trailer chassis by a tipping ram.
In particular the present invention relates to tipping trucks and tipping trailers, hereinafter generally encompassed under the term xe2x80x9ctipping trailersxe2x80x9d. Thus, trailer chassis and trailer body also refers to a vehicle body and a vehicle chassis
Tipping trailers are used extensively for the delivery of material such as stone, gravel, macadam, etc. from place to place. The standard tipping truck is an exceptionally useful piece of equipment However, very often it is required to transport machinery on such trailer bodies such as tractors, small excavators and various other dumpers, forklifts and mechanical engineering equipment generally. Many of these are machinery which have ground engaging wheels or tracks. To get them onto the trailer body, the trailer body is held in the horizontal position and planks or other means are used to form a ramp between the rear of the trailer body and the ground and then the equipment is in some way manhandled up the ramp so formed to put the equipment in the trailer body. In many instances, a ramp is not sufficient and usually the truck has to be backed up against a dock or the like raised ground to allow relatively heavy equipment to be placed on the trailer. The use of planks or other ramp forming means is often insecure and dangerous in the sense that it would be dangerous for example to drive a forklift truck up such a structurally insecure ramp. Indeed, it is often done and it has been the cause of many an accident. The same problem then arises after the equipment has been delivered by the truck to its destination in that it then has to be unloaded from the trailer body when the reverse process is carried out.
The present invention is directed towards providing means so that a tipping trailer could overcome these problems.
According to the invention there is provided a pivot mounting assembly for mounting a tipping trailer body on a trailer chassis of the type in which the pivot mounting assembly provides a pivot axis on the trailer chassis about which the trailer body is raised off and onto the trailer chassis by a tipping ram characterised in that the assembly comprises an elongate lever arm having a chassis pivot locator for connection to the trailer chassis and a spaced apart body pivot locator for connection to the trailer body and actuating means to pivot the lever arm about the trailer chassis to cause a portion of the trailer body on raising the trailer body to project away from and below the trailer chassis. Effectively the trailer body forms now its own ramp to allow equipment to be driven on and off the trailer body and thus in effect the pivot mounting assembly effectively provides a drive-on tipper truck for loading equipment and other machinery thereon.
In one embodiment of the invention the spaced apart pivot locators are so arranged that the body pivot locator is closer, in use, to the tipping ram than the chassis pivot locator. This allows the trailer body to be first lifted up away from the chassis and pivoted rearward before it is pivoted downward. It facilitates the provision of what is in effect a relatively gentle slope to climb for the equipment being loaded.
In one embodiment of the invention the body pivot locator in use with the trailer body lowered onto the trailer chassis is above the chassis pivot locator. This again provides a very efficient way of moving the trailer body.
In another embodiment of the invention there is provided a base frame for connection to the trailer chassis and in which the chassis pivot locator is pivotally connected to the base frame. In this way a retro-fit pivot mounting assembly may be provided which can be easily mounted on an existing truck, Obviously if a truck is being built the chassis can be modifed ab initio to take the pivot mounting assembly according to the invention, but for many existing trucks ideally the pivot mounting assembly could be provided as an add-on unit which can be easily affixed to an existing chassis of either a trailer or a vehicle.
Ideally the pivot mounting assembly comprises a trailer body engaging support for the trailer body when the trailer body projects beyond and below the trailer chassis. This will add further support to the trailer body when it is being loaded and unloaded.
Ideally the spacing between the pivot locators is chosen to allow the trailer body to rest on the ground.
Ideally the actuating means is a ram connected to the lever arm and the ram has a connector for mounting on the trailer body and a connector on the vehicle chassis.
Further invention provides a tipping trailer incorporating a pivot mounting as described above. It will be appreciated that such a tipping trailer will be particularly advantageous in use as it is now a drive-on tipper truck.